Knitting-machine.



L. J. QUINN.

KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man APR. 7. ms.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

Ill llll ll UNITED erases PATENT onrron.

- LORAINE J. QUINN, 0F BRANTFORD, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT & WILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 1 4;, 1916.

continuation in, part of application serial no. 811,269, filed January 9, 1914. This application filed April 7, 1915. Serial No.19,840.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LORAINE J. QUINN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brantford, in the Province of Ontario,

Canada, have invented certain new and use-. 'ful Improvements in Knitting-Machines, of

which the following is a specification. I M invention relates to knitting machines for knitting interconnected two-ply plain fabrics.

One object of my invention is to provide a machinehaving two sets of needles with, improved devices for producing simultaneously from two or more knitting yarns plain fabrics knit respectively upon each. set of needles, and facing in opposite directions, said fabrics being connected by the inclusion of sinker wales of the fabric of one face in knit wales of the fabric of the other face.

While my invention is capable of being applied to any knitting machine having carriers for two sets of needles drawing,

loops in opposite directions, I have illustrated it as applied to a cylinder and dial knitting machine.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a development in elevation showing the needles of one carrier as for instance the cylinder. Fig. is a plan view above the needle dial 0 such a machine. Fig. 3 is a view of the i ner or dial face of the fabric produced. I

As disclosed in my application Serial No. 811,269 filed January 9, 1914, of which this application is a continuation in part, fabrics of the type desired to be produced may be formed by feeding a yarn such as the yarn a: to a primary set of needles, here shown for example only as the dial needles 1, said needles being actuated .to knit with such yarn in only, all of the secondary or cylinder needles 2 being positioned to receive the sinker wales between adjacent wales of the dial-needle fabric upon their shanks, and the cylinder needles thereafter being fed with a separate yarn 12 and actuated to knit, whereupon the sinker wale loops of the primary or dial fabric, as well as the face loops of the secondary or cylinder fabric, are cast off upon the new loop of the yarn g drawn by the secondar or cylinder needles.

Either set 0 needles may be first to rethe lines latches of the cei ve the yarn and knit, as will be obvious, and I hereinafter refer to said set of needles as primary needles, and to the subsequently actuated set of needles as secondwhereby the knitting waves for both fabrics are brought into juxtaposition and an in'- creased number of yarn feed points and knit-- ting waves is permitted, the fabrics being connected at each sinker wale of one of said fabrics in the same manner as shown in Fig. 2 of said Patent No. 7 09,7 84, at each course, long relative movement between a needle of either set in a projected position and the needle cams being at the same time avoided.

My new devices also ,provide improved means for controlling the operation of the needle-latches.

Refer'rin -A, B-B indicate the same radial planes for cylinder and dial, and assuming the dial fabric to be the primary now to the drawings in which.

fabric, I provide the machine with any suitable form of dial needle cams for giving the dial needles an early advance, for instance having an advancing incline as at 20, to clear their latches of their previous loops, followed by a concentric portion 22. Relatively and adjustably fixed in any usual manner with respect to the dial cam-carrier (not shown) which may be of any usual construction, a latch guard and yarn-feed plate 3 provided with a latch guard portion I4 having a beveled end 5 lies above the ;dial

needles projected by the cam incline 2O .,'-',Q,The

position and adjustment of the 4 is as shown such as to prevent-the opened I projected dial needles from closing. At a point coincident with or outside 0 the. latch guard 3 I provide a fixed. yarn guide (3 for the primary yarn m. This yarn guide may be as shown an adjustable arm having a vertical bore 7, attached onthe outer face of latch guard 3, as by the screw The adjustment is such as to bring the yarn bore 7 close to or within the hooks of the projected dial needles now traveling in the concentric portion 2;. of their cams. The dial needles having received the yarn are now actuated to knit by a stitch cam 23 provided on the dial cam carrier.

(.oimaident with, prior to, or following the advance of the dial needles at slope 20 the cylinder needles are advanced, within the inner cylindrical face of latch guard 3 byan advancing slope formed by any suitable coi'nbination of cam elements carried by a cylinder cam ring (not shown) of any usual construe-tion. Needles so advanced open their latches, which are held open by vancing slope 32 completing the elevation of said cylinder needles. It will. be observed that needles moved as by stitch cam 23 will draw the yarn as against the shank of the cylinder needles. This movement is also suflicient to cause the dial needles to penetrate the old loop held upon the shank of the dial needles, the latch closing by contact with the old dial loop.

In order to permit the closing movement of the latches of the dial needles, the latch guard 4 is cut away at 9, the vertical extent of the out being sufficient to permit the swinging of the dial latches but insuflicient to expose the latches of the advanced cylinder needles in the position attained at cam Latch guard plate 3 is thus provided with a portion 12 for guarding the latches of the cylinder needles following that part 4' of the guard effective upon the dial needles, and preceding the feed point for the cylinder needles. The dial needles having now completed stitches having their sinker wales lying upon the shank of the cylinder needles, the dial needles may be paid back as by a cam incline at 24, but this advance is not sufiicient materially to slacken the loops of yarn or detained by the advanced cylinder needles. The cylinder needles moving'in their advanced'position will now encounter the secondary yarn 3 fed in any suitable manner, as through a hole 10 in the portion 12 of the latch guard plate 3, and

. be withdrawn into their carrier to knit by the'opera-tmn ofa cylinder stitch-cam incline 34. The stitching movement of the cylinder needles casts elf both the yarn loop of the secondary needles only, thus securing closure of the secondary needle latches and preventing taking into the hooks of the secondary needles the yarn of the primary fabric, but without maintaining any great number of the tying or sinker-Wale loops simultaneously under tension. I

It will. be observed that bymy new devices coaction of the two sets of needles to knit two distinct fabrics closely connected together is secured within a relatively narrow angular segment .of the two sets of needles. I may thus provide for multiplecourse production as many sets of cams and separate yarn feeds for their yarns as may be desired, my new device permitting a large number of such units to be crowded around the periphery of the machine.

\Vhile I have illustrated my invention in connect-ion with a latch needle machine, it will be obvious that the principles thereof are independent of the nature of the knitting instruments and that independently movable spring needles might be employed in a corresponding manner, with suitable change in their cooperating instruments, such as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

It will also be apparent that the cylinder needles may be those first retractrd, the dial needles remaining advanced, the position of the respective yarn guides being suitably changed to permit feeding the cylinder needles in advance of the dial needles. and the relation of the cylinder and dial cams being changed to secure the retraction of the cylinder needles before the retraction of the dial needles.

What I claim is:

1. A knitting machine having a primary and a secondary set of needles, cams and a latch guard for maintaining said secondary needles in a state of advance with their latches open coincident with cams for advancing said primary needles, and having cams for retracting said primary needles to knit at a place defined by secondary needles remaining so advanced, and cams for retracting the secondary needles to knit immediately following said primary knitting cams, in combination with means for supplying separate yarns to the needles of the respective sets.

2. A knitting machine having in combination a primary and a secondary set of latch needles, means for advancing said needles, a latch-guard device for holding open the latches of the needles of each set, means for feeding a yarn into hooks of said primary needles held open by said latch guard device, means for retracting said primary needles to knit during maintenance of the advance of said secondary needles, means for feeding another yarn to the open hooks of said secondary needles, and means for retracting said secondary needlesto knit. j

3. A knitting machine having in combination a primary and a secondary set of intermeshing latch needles, means for advancing and maintaining said primary and secondary needles in a state of advance, a latch guard surface for said advanced primary needles, means for retracting said primary needles to knit at the end of said latch guard surface, a latch guard surface for holding open the advanced secondary needles, and means for retracting said sec ondary needles to knit operating after said primary needles have been retracted to knit, and means for supplying separate yarns to the retracting needles of the respective sets.

4. A knitting machine for knitting connected plain fabrics having two sets of latch needles arranged to intermesh, a latchguard device having surfaces for holding the latches of each set open, said surfaces terminating at separated points, in combination with guldes for feeding independent yarns to the needles of each set respectively at or near the termination of said surfaces, cams for advancing the needles into relation with latch-guarding surfaces being cut away at and beyond the yarn guide first to deliver its yarn, to permit closure of latches of the needles of one set, said machine having means for retracting the needles of said set prior to actuation of the needles of the other I set.

- 6. A knitting machine having two sets of latch needles and a latch-guard device therefor having a part with a guard surface f0 one set of needles of an extent and in a position to coincide with the crest of a relatively long wave of advance in said set of needles, said device having coincident with a part only of said surface a second latch-guard surface for the needles of the other set, said device also having formed therein a latchswinging opening for the needles of said other set lying within the area defined by said wave of advance.

In, testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LORAINE J QUINN. 

